Federal Minister for Communication Qamar Zaman Kaira, reading out a formal decision of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet announced that the Ground Lines of Communications (GLOCs) were being opened. He added that no lethal Nato cargo will be allowed, except for that which is meant for Afghan security forces.

During a telephone conversation with her Pakistani counterpart Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, she “informed me that the ground supply lines into Afghanistan are opening,” Clinton said.

Islamabad had long said that Washington must apologise for the air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers before it would re-open the routes, closed in anger after the US attack.

“Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives,” Clinton said in a statement.

“We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again.”

The blockade has forced the alliance to rely on longer, more expensive northern routes through Russia and Central Asia.

No transit fee

Initial hopes of a deal on re-opening the routes fell apart at a Nato summit in Chicago in May amid reports that Pakistan was demanding huge fees for each of the thousands of trucks that rumble across the border every year.

But Clinton said: “Pakistan will continue not to charge any transit fee in the larger interest of peace and security in Afghanistan and the region.

“This is a tangible demonstration of Pakistan’s support for a secure, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan and our shared objectives in the region. This will also help the United States and ISAF conduct the planned drawdown at a much lower cost.”

The statement said that the Pakistani minister announced that “no lethal equipment will transit the GLOC into Afghanistan except for equipping the ANSF.

Clinton said that she and the foreign minister spoke about “the importance of taking coordinated action against terrorists who threaten Pakistan, the United States, and the region; of supporting Afghanistan’s security, stability, and efforts towards reconciliation; and of continuing to work together to advance the many other shared interests we have, from increasing trade and investment to strengthening our people-to-people ties.”

She added that both the countries should have a “relationship that is enduring, strategic, and carefully defined, and that enhances the security and prosperity of both our nations and the region.”

Severely strained ties between the United States and Pakistan are poised to improve after the two countries agreed to reopen ground routes key for the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States said.

“We appreciate Secretary Clinton’s statement, and hope that bilateral ties can move to a better place from here. I am confident that both countries can agree on many critical issues, especially on bringing peace to the region,” Ambassador Sherry Rehman said in a statement.

Move welcomed

The US commander of Nato troops fighting the Taliban welcomed Pakistan’s decision to reopen Nato supply lines into Afghanistan after a seven-month blockade.

General John Allen made the remarks in a statement released in Kabul that also paid tribute to the “sacrifices” made by Pakistani, as well as Afghan and Nato troops in the war.

“I look forward to future opportunities to work together toward our common goals, by taking coordinated action against terrorists,” he said.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also welcomed the move, saying the resumption of transit arrangements for ISAF supplies through Pakistan demonstrates strengthened cooperation between ISAF nations and Pakistan.

On the reopening of supply routes, Secretary Defence Leon Panetta said, “I welcome Pakistan’s decision to open the ground lines of communication. As I have made clear, we remain committed to improving our partnership with Pakistan and to working closely together as our two nations confront common security challenges in the region.”

Some US officials including Senator John Kerry and Senator Graham appreciated the move.

The Salala incident had prompted Pakistan to conduct a policy review of its ties with the US, demanding that the US issue a high-level apology over the incident, and end drone strikes before the routes would be reopened.

The US, on numerous occasions expressed regret over the incident, but did not offer a clear apology as demanded by Pakistan. ISAF Commander General Allen had also offered a “personal apology” to Pakistan army chief.

Clinton’s statement came as Pakistan held a meeting of its Defence Committee for Cabinet (DCC), chaired by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, to discuss the Nato blockade.

US to release $1.1b in CSF funds

The United States will release about $1.1 billion to Pakistan’s military as part of a deal that will see Islamabad lift a blockade on NATO supply convoys into Afghanistan, a US official said Tuesday.

The money, from a US “coalition support fund” is designed to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of counter-insurgency operations, had been withheld due to tensions between the two countries and Islamabad’s closure of the supply routes.

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Reader Comments (101)

And that is, all that noise for a verbal apology… official “friendship” with the US is more important than few human lives as cynical it may sound, and that irritating demand for apology from our side will have negative consequences for the near future.Recommend

The U.S. has said nothing different from what they have been saying since the Salala incident. They feel sorry, and express regret. However, they are not apologizing on the official level. Now, we the Pakistanis have to swallow our pride and live with it.

I am for a loss of words…Wow tears in my eyes…Today we all can be Proud to be Pakistani. Pakistan Zindabad… In long run Salala Was worth it, I am sure the relatives and the other 30,000 civies will of course agree.
Time for Fireworks and Bhangras and aerial firing..Kal Chuti hogi? /Sarcasm

now where the hack are those Indian extremist who had written this off and said US would beat the crap out of Pakistan and so on and so forth…… kindly for the future simply understand, US is neither Pakistan’s nor India’s or anyone else’s friend (and that’s true for every other country), they simply follow their own interests, you just need to be a bit more realistic next timeRecommend

I am glad that our egos did not get the better of us. I agree the US has not said anything new here; this is what they have been saying all along. They did not assume the responsibility of killing Pakistani soldier. Of course like all human beings, they are sorry at the death of soldiers.
Only a few minutes ago I wrote in one of my comments that it has to open and it is in our interest how easily and quickly we comply with the wishes of the free world. We should not have overplayed our cards to start with. We are finally doing the right thing after we have tried everything else!Recommend

Some sort of diplomatic success for Pakistan since we all know that Americans never says sorry to anyone else especially to a country like Pakistan. And for the first time ever, Pakistani leadership, both Governmental and militarily showed some balls.

“US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the US says “sorry” for the losses suffered by Pakistani military in the Salala check post attack.”

Pakistan has lost one golden chance for stopping the drone attacks in which uncounted innocent civilians have also been killed.

Had Pakistan asked US not only to apologies for military personnel that were killed in Salala Attack, but have also asked the US government to apologies for the loss of Pakistani civilians as well who have been killed in numerous drone attacks.

For me the lives of military personnel as well as of the innocent civilians are equal.

All the fuss for the past so many months was just for a “Sorry”. Are all in Pakistan now really happy, that they brought the Super Power to the knees.
I am really Sorry, for your Sorry state of affairs!!

‘During a telephone conversation with her Pakistani counterpart Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, she “informed me that the ground supply lines into Afghanistan are opening,” Clinton said.’
Even before an apology was given and accepted, supply lines are open. This is the real apology to Pakistanis.

@Greens:“Does sorry = apology ???”
No! “Sorry” is a term used to express dismay at an unfortunate turn of “impersonal” events. “Apology” is deeply personal and imputes a certain measure of personal responsibility.
But, hey, why nitpick? If you dug yourself out of a self-imposed saucy situation, all power to you! Try it again and the world shall turn around and walk away Recommend

“Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives,” Clinton said in a statement.
“We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again.”

By no means is this an unconditional apology. This is an expression of regret which had been proffered earlier. Clearly Pakistan has gone back on its stance that an unconditional apology was a pre-requisite to opening the supply lines. I also do not see any decision on drones which I thought was also a requirement of your parliamentary committee. IT looks like a 180 degree turn by the Pakistan establishment Recommend

The so called “transit fee” news were US Leon Panetta saying, Pak strictly denied it, but you guys went overboard even though both FO and Sherry Rehman denied pak demanding any increase in fees. Whether US said sorry to india or other is not my headache Pak demanded and got what it demanded. Pak made it very clear an apology is a must, If you guys are true pakistani then u guys must realize its a huge diplomatic win for pak.

Clinton’s statement came closer than the Obama administration had before to an outright apology for the deadly November border incident, while still allowing Washington to say it had not formally apologized.

The border incident had been a major new blow to U.S.-Pakistan ties, following the U.S. raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Pakistani territory, at a crucial moment in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Clinton said she “reiterated our deepest regrets”, and offered condolences to the families of the Pakistan soldiers who lost their lives.

“Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives. We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again,” Clinton said.

WIN-WIN situation for both pak and America , U.S didn’t apologies so romney can’t attack obama while ppp can claim that they got an apology from superpower

@SK: ”
now where the hack are those Indian extremist who had written this off and said US would beat the crap out of Pakistan and so on and so forth”

We are right here. (By the way we are Indian but not extremist despite your label). We had said 4 things and all 4 have come true:
1. US will not provide unconditional apology and they have not. What they have done is express regret by saying they are sorry for the loss of Pakistani soldiers but they talked about ‘mistakes on both sides’ which is certainly not unconditional. The rationale we provided is that their investigation showed that firing was started on Pakistani side, which is why they would NOT provide unconditional apology
2. The drones would not stop as demanded by the parliamentary committee and they have not stopped nor is there ANY commitment to stop.
3. US would not give in to Pakistani gouging and pay $5000 per truck. They did not give in. In fact, transit is going to be free.
4. The lines will open because Pakistan does not have the capacity to put up with the economic and security consequences of alienating US. The economic consequence would be stoppage of aid, CSF, no support for IMF loan and the security impact of alienating US would be that US would stop providing free arms.

@Mr S: “Some sort of diplomatic success for Pakistan since we all know that Americans never says sorry to anyone else especially to a country like Pakistan. And for the first time ever, Pakistani leadership, both Governmental and militarily showed some balls.”

On the contrary, after 7 months they have reversed their decision without a SINGLE Pakistani condition being met. US did not provide an unconditional apology which was demanded. They repated their expression of regret (“We are sorry for the deaths”) but did not acknowledge that it was all their fault which is what an unconditional apology would be. They simply said mistakes were made on both sides. This is what they have said all along. The other 2 conditions: stoppage of drones and $5000 per truck’ have also not been agreed to.

The agreement followed an apology issued by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, for the killing in November of 24 Pakistani troops in a Nato air strike. That incident came on top of growing protests from Pakistan over drone attacks and infringements of Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Well; After the decision of reopening NATO supply ground lines…..All the high ups of both countries to clarify or communicate all the Conditions/Commitments/Agreements on the bases of which this decision is going possible/has been made…..Hence for the future both the Nations i.e. Pakistan and US along with NATO Allied countries understand and even communicate to the UN security council too. For sure this was not only matter of apologies/sorry But many things (agreements) behind.

@gp65:
These very Pakistanis whose fireworks we see right now will be tearing into the govt tomorrow when Imran Khan says that the govt caved in and didnt even get an unconditional apology in return.
@Mr. S:
Allow me to show you the difference between an unconditional apology and an expression of regret without accepting full responsibility.
Example 1: Unconditional apology: “We apologize for any inconvenience that Mr Shah Rukh Khan may have experienced,” said Peter Vrooman, a spokesman for the US embassy. Note the use of the word apologize.
Example 2: Expression of regret with clearly shared responsibility: “Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives. We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military.” Clinton said in a statement.
Hope this helps. However, glad that you are able to celebrate this perceived victory and the truth should not come in the way.

Guardian is better source then Yahoo India :)
The agreement followed an apology issued by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, for the killing in November of 24 Pakistani troops in a Nato air strike. That incident came on top of growing protests from Pakistan over drone attacks and infringements of Pakistan’s sovereignty.

I once again reiterated our deepest regrets for the tragic incident in Salala last November. I offered our sincere condolences to the families of the Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives. Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives. We are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani military. We are committed to working closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent this from ever happening again.

@Adnan D
It was a mistake anyone can see that. Trust me we have done more to them and we turn a blind eye to all that. By your logic God should apologise to us because he caused the landslide/Snow storm that killed our soldiers in Siachen

The whole episode of closure of the supply, negotiations and then re-opening without gaining anything substantial whatsoever, is a sad commentary on the calibre, or lack of it, of the current leadership. Who precisely is to blame, whether civilian or military leadership, one is not in a position to say, because it is not known who is in control! Or whether anyone is in control at all! They have made a mess of everything, from the economy and law and order to foreign policy. And in the process have strengthened the position of the fanatical elements. Recommend

Okay that’s it, I’ve decided to stop criticizing Pakistan. You are the funniest nation on earth. First you demand an apology, who cares about a damn apology. Then the U.S. plays games with the apology and now words it to say sorry for the loss of life. And NOW, the apology wasn’t good enough. I think what you have been looking for this whole time is for the United States of America to take complete responsibility for the Salala incident even though they attempted a join investigation which was denied. And they’re under the impression they were fired on first. I’ll tell you what. I don’t know what happened to Pakistani diplomatic institutions but if it wasn’t so insane it would be funny. I can’t stop laughing. Oh and please don’t cry about the transit fee. The USA just gave you 1.1 Billion dollars. That will put your economy on life support for at least another year. That covers the transit fee’s at $5000 a truck for 220,000 truck transits. I think Uncle Sam has given you your Eid Money here.

On behalf of the President of the United States of America as a citizen of the United States of America. I am sorry along with my counterpart Muhajeer in ET comments section for the mistakes that were made in Salala. That’s not to say it’s our fualt. lol. Hey man, take that 1.1 billion and run to the bank. I don’t think you understand your number one national security threat isn’t the lack of foreign apologies, it’s the lack of foreign reserves.

This is another illusion that those in power will sell to man on the street in Pakistan and tell them more BS !!
Congrats to the the Army ! Not to the Politicians as this was a deal done in GHQ!
By the the way No Official Apology has been made by Washington !
So what was all the fuss about?

Honestly, all this chest-thumping is nauseating, to say the least. Reading some of the comments, I am shocked that there seems such scant appreciation of the basic fact that the nterests of Pak and US converge. They always have. That is why Quaid-e-Azam was an ardent advocate of an alliance with the Western World as opposed to the Soviets. And now 60 years on, it would be tragedy to squander his efforts, as well as those of other pragmatic minds among Pakistan’s foreign policy makers, who passionately strove for close ties with the US as well as with the rest of the free world.

everytime when they killed 24 pak soldiers,after that us say sorry ..after somtime another 24 soldiers kill by us again us say sorry…what that means sorry for pak soldiers live..this is pak govt…..tak new govt not pti bcz this is nt cricket match where u hav to hit stumps., no nawaz sharif…new party with new face…………………

Someone comes into your house and kills members of your family. Then they say “sorry they died” and “we were both responsible for it” (because you provoked him). There is no question of apology for the attack itself, just “sorry they died” and “you are equally responsible.” Plus I wont give you any additional compensation, maybe just what money I owed you. Not just that I am telling the world I am not giving you any compensation to you….and that we are both responsible for the deaths. And oh, you better behave yourself in the region. And no, there’s no question of me promising not to bomb you (through drones). That will continue.

Pakistan did not only take it as apology but also decided to let tankers pass WITHOUT a transit fee! What treachery is this ? Tribune please take up this issue! The above statement is from mr qamar kaira after he said no money would be charged

Start decreasing the begging the amount of Aid from US and we’ll start taking you serious on equality basis, as we never treat beggers as equal in any part of World, I feel pity for you Pakistanis for the kind of politicians you select to deal with U.S !

“Foreign Minister Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives,” Clinton said in a statement. – I read this as to mean mistakes were made by both sides. As for apology, US has already expressed its regrets and said sorry before.

I read the same news in CNN.com. The news item states that Mrs.Clinton offered her ‘deepest regrets’ to Ms.Khar for the tragic incident.

Lets see:
1. After NATO moves out of Afghanistan, there is nothing Pakistan can make US compromise about. After all they are Capitalist and knows the value of money.
2. US will make Pakistan pay a price for this and they have already started to do it.
3. Pakistan must understand one practical thing- If there is no US several economy will die including their all weather friend China, India, UK, Japan, South Korea and many more. and then begging will no longer be an option for Pakistan.
4. 24 Pakistani soldiers = one word ‘Sorry’ = Pakistan keeping its dignity at stake.
1000 US citizens (9/11) = Afghanistan + Iraq + Pakistan + Iran + Egypt + ALQueda

@Pakistani: “We opened the supply so that we can get $1.1B of “coalition support fund”. Our 1 dead soldier is now worth $45.8 million. Congratulations to the Army Cheif and SoaB President.”

First of all the sacrifices of soldiers are always to be respected. SO please take my next statement as an opinion about the establishment and government’s negotiating skills – NOT abouy their sacrifice. The fact is that the government got NOTHINg it did not already have. HAd the blockade not been implemented in the first place, the CSF would not have been stopped. There is not one penny extra that Pakistan has got out of this whole 7 month fiasco.

What has Shahrukh Khan apology has to do with this :d are you guys really crazy ? Even in case of Raymond Davis American were apologizing all over the place and payed huge blood money but this time they have changed their stance. Earlier Pentagon report claimed that the attack was not a mistake infact it was Pakistani Army fault but how many times you have seen Pentagon and American Govt changing their stance ? Now you all want Americans bowing down in front of Pakistanis or licking our feet for the apology ?

@Jim – Not saying it is right, but following your analogy, what if your offspring, your son, had earlier killed member’s of this “someones” family? Should the feud continue and grow, or would it be better to end it as soon as possible before things get worse?

No matter the apologies was official or not! but it is better step to up-lift the economy of Pakistan in espect of CSF of 1.1 billion Dollers and the social condition of the people that their financial resources are related to the NATO supply will also become better after it. But it should be clear that NATO Forces will not attack on pakistani territory again in future and never put these kind of condition that pakistani Government may not take this kind of action.